This week has brought dropping temperatures, bare branches, and flocks of migratory birds to the Grand Rapids area.
This fall has been a late one, with trees staying green and full of leaves past their seasonal averages. Many folks hope that this means it will be a mild winter and an early spring. John referred to his records to check this prediction’s accuracy.
The latest fall in John’s records was in 2013, when red maples reached peak color on Oct. 11. (John’s 40-year average for this event is Sept. 21.) With such a late fall, folks were hopeful that the winter would be short and mild – however, that was not the case. The spring of 2014 was one of the latest on record. John concluded, “The fact that our red maples weren’t at peak until the end of [September] this year means absolutely nothing concerning the coming winter.”
"So, all I can say is: buckle up and enjoy it. Get out there and make use of all of that wonderful winter that is in front of us, and it includes a lot of great activities that I enjoy. I’m sure most of you who are listening probably have some things that you like to do in the winter as well: Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, skating, ice boating, it doesn’t matter. There’s just a million things to do – just walk around and look at the birch seeds laying on top of the snow. It’ll all happen at its own pace.”
Topics
- Introduction (0:00-0:23)
- Fall color update (0:23-12:31)
- Pin cherry (0:23-1:10)
- Birch and red maples (1:10-2:44)
- Does a late fall mean a mild winter? (2:37-4:30)
- Silver maples (4:30-5:31)
- Speckled alder (5:31-6:08)
- Quaking and trembling aspen phenology (6:08-9:50)
- Horse chestnut (9:50-10:28)
- Tamarack (10:28-10:54)
- Round-leaved dogwoods, hazels, and blackberries (10:54-12:31)
- Migrating flocks of crows and sparrows (12:31-12:55)
- American Robins and grouse feast on crab apples (12:55-13:24)
- Bald Eagles (13:24-13:50)
- Bumblebees and monarchs (13:50-14:12)
- Conclusion (14:12-14:43)
What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, <b>subscribe</b> to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
